


be there for you

by Sirca



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationship, Character Study, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4044124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirca/pseuds/Sirca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro was fast, but Wanda was clever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	be there for you

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a little fleshing out of the backstory of the twins. Any mistakes made are, of course, purely my own.

They were only ten when their world came crashing down. 

* * *

Wanda stared open mouthed at the hole in the floor. The space where their parents had been was nothing but a maw—leaving only the jaws of hell coming to claim the rest of them. When she didn’t respond to her name, Pietro plucked her from the ground, swung her in his arms, and ran. He had always been bigger than her, stronger even at such a young age. His first choice of hiding was beneath the bed.

“It will be okay,” he said, smoothing her hair back from her face. “It will be okay.”

The second missile crashed through the ceiling.

* * *

They ran through the woods on the way home from school. It was a footrace, but also a game of hide and seek. Pietro was fast, but Wanda was clever. She covered her mouth, hiding her smile behind her fingers. He called out to her, but she remained steadfast in the brush. 

“Wanda, we have to go!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. She could see the outline of his worn tennis shoes and he passed by.

“Boo!” she exclaimed, jumping out, He whirled, eyes wide. 

“Don’t do that!” he shouted back. Wanda only laughs, sprinting towards the general direction of their home. The building towered over the trees. She would always be able to fine her home, no matter how long she stayed away.

Pietro was hot on her heels. Like always.

* * *

The rubble shifted. Wanda gasped, then buried her face into Pietro’s chest. His hands gripped her shoulders tightly enough to bruise. He was terrified, just as much as she. The rescue crews had heard them calling. Dislodging the missile without harming them had proved difficult. The tactics had changed, the rescue crews had reassured them they would be okay.

“We’re going to die here,” Wanda said, her voice small. Pietro had stopped answering, only clinging to her more tightly. His back was to the missile, as if he could shield her from the blast. 

The scream of metal filled their ears. Another part of the building had collapsed.

* * *

It was the first place they went, after the Avengers had destroyed the HYDRA base. The familiar path through the woods was a blur, too fast to keep track up with Pietro’s running. The twisted metal and broken concrete stood tall, a testament to everything they stood against.

Pietro sat her down, breathing heavily. Running took a considerable amount out of him, and he’d had a passenger, as well. Wanda placed a soothing hand on his back as he doubled over, hands on his knees.

“It will pass,” she murmured. 

Finally, when he could stand upright once more, he said, “They will pay for this.”

She knew he wasn’t referring to the base, but the building, the home that was destroyed. They both looked at it, like an overly large headstone. Here lies their family. Their childhood. Their lives. After that day, nothing had been the same.

“They will,” she responded, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Pietro moves to embrace her. It was a lie, some things stayed the same. She would always have her brother.

* * *

The first day passed. Endless terror had drained them both dry. Exhaustion was all they had left, taking with it the mind numbing terror or grief about their mother and father. Wanda and Pietro laced their fingers together, waiting for the end.

It would’ve been welcome in that moment. Anything to finally end the nightmare. The rescue crews still worked frantically to get them out, but as time stretched onward, there was no end in sight. 

“It will be okay,” Pietro said tiredly, for what Wanda felt was the thousandth time. 

“I know. You’re here with me.” Her fingers grip his more tightly.

The hours stretch onward. The building swayed beneath them.

* * *

The protest dragged on and on until the both of them had sore feet and hoarse voices. Pietro had rage like fire, protesting Stark’s weapons, and finally his relief packages. They stood together, shouting for hours. Every moment reminded her of her home. Of the building. Being trapped and small and helpless.

She imagined it was the same for Pietro. Since their parents had died he had looked out for her, and she him. The powerlessness of that moment had changed them, molded Pietro into something bitter and angry, and her quiet and calculating. 

The relief packages were distributed anyways, despite their protests. Pietro insisted that they go back, again and again and again. Wanda couldn’t soothe him, nor could she find peace herself. Perhaps it would someday yield results. She took his hand, and they stepped into the street once more.

* * *

It was Pietro who heard of HYDRA’s acceptance of volunteers. When he told her of it, there was a feverish look in his eyes.

“This is it, Wanda. This is it—our way to fight back.” His fists are clenched as tightly as his jaw. Her brother had been looking for a fight since the day they’d emerged from the rubble, hand in hand. A way to win back what they both lost. 

She hesitated, but only momentarily. “Then we will join them.”

* * *  
The second day passed, and the change happened gradually. Objects in her room levitate, shatter, break, and she knew it was her doing. Pietro let out a ragged yell from the room next to hers, followed by a dull thump.

They told her he was okay, the people who come and run tests. She could still hear him, so she trusted it well enough. As long as she stayed strong, he would to. They were all they had left. He wouldn’t go where she couldn’t follow.

* * *

They were pulled from the rubble with rough hands, taken out of the building immediately. The death grip the twins had on each other’s hands could not be separated. Even when they were taken to the hospital, they demanded to stay close. There was a fracture in Pietro’s arm. Wanda had banged her head violently on the ground.   
But they had survived.

* * *

They had survived. 

They would find the Avengers.

They wouldn’t be powerless again.


End file.
